Nuala Moore observed her competitiveness. "She is such a beautiful spirit and only got out of the water in Estonia as it wasn't fun anymore."

Makïnen competed at the inaugural International Ice Swimming Championships in Murmansk, Russia where her transformation into one of the world's fastest cold water swimmers was clear. "I was born on December 23rd 1993 in Vantaa, Finland. Therefore, I am a winter girl and all winter sports are close to my heart. I did ice swimming a lot during winters as a kid, but after I moved to Joensuu in 2012 I started training ice swimming more seriously and developed a better knowledge of this icy sport.

My team is Joensuun Jääkarhut and I participated my first competitions in 2014 winning the Finnish Championship in the 25m breaststroke and was a world champion at the 2014 Winter Swimming World Championships held in Rovaniemi, Finland in the 25m breaststroke and 25m freestyle.

I have been swimming in warm pools since I was a kid, competing mostly in the 200 individual medley, and later doing triathlons and open water swimming.

In competitive swimming, I enjoyed training long distance, regularly doing 6-8 km in practice 10 times a week. Therefore, I am a very passionate swimmer and I like to push myself to see my own limits. After the World Championships in Rovaniemi, I started to feel comfortable with the thought of me as an endurance ice swimmer. I have enough mental strength, but also common sense to know my safe limits."

Her WOWSA Award nomination reads, "Elina Makïnen was non-stop wherever and whenever she competed in ice swimming competitions. At the Pirita Open in Estonia, in solo races at the Finish Championships, Winter Swimming Championships, or on relays at the World Ice Swimming Championships in Russia, she was both a friendly spirit and a competitive athlete. She completed the 450m endurance swim in a quick 6 minutes 33 seconds and covered 1,100m in 18 minutes. She led off the winning Viimsi Veeklubi relay team with Henri Kaarma, Bruno Nopponen and Andres Olvik and participated in the Fast and Frozen, two-way North Channel relay. For her winter charisma, for her mental strength and ice swimming knowledge, for her silver medal performance in the 1000m race (15:12) and her gold medal in the 450m endurance swim at the World Ice Swimming Championships in Russia, Elina Makïnen is a worthy nominee for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year."

To vote for the 2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year, visit the WOWSA Awards here.

The Other Shore

The Other Shore follows world record holder and legendary swimmer Diana Nyad as she comes out of a thirty-year retirement to re-attempt an elusive dream: swimming 103 miles non-stop from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark cage. Her past and present collide in her obsession with a feat that nobody has ever accomplished. At the edge of The Devil’s Triangle, tropical storms, sharks, venomous jellyfish, and one of the strongest ocean currents in the world, all prove to be life-threatening realities. Timothy Wheeler’s documentary brings Diana Nyad’s extraordinary adventure to life as Diana sets out to prove that will and determination are all you need to make the unimaginable possible.LEARN MORE...

2014 Open Water Swimming Almanac

An Almanac for Open Water Swimming

An almanac is essentially a body of knowledge which is so complete that it enables people in different fields to make predictions about the future of their respective industries.

This, for example, was the purpose of the traditional farmers almanacs. It enabled farmers to determine as accurately as possible which crops to plant for the greatest harvests in a given year.

But the farmers almanac was just one example among many. There are, of course, many different kinds of almanacs.

The trends are very clear. The tide is rising for open water swimming.

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Congratulations to Bridgette Hobart Janeczko of U.S.A.

2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year

Congratulations to Antonio Argüelles Díaz-González of Mexico

2015 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year

Congratulations to Andrea Fazio of Italy

2015 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year

Congratulations to World Ice Swimming Championships In Murmansk, Russia

2015 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year

Lewis Pugh Presents WOWSA Awards at Big Chill Swim

5 February 2016 in Windermere

2014 & 2015 WOWSA Awards

World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year, World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year, World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year and World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year will be celebrated at the Big Chill Swim, one of the world's largest winter swimming festivals

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One of the World's Top Open Water Swim

Open Water Swimming in Italy

SWIM THE ISLAND is the ultimate open water swimming event taking place in the fascinating Marine Protected Area of Bergeggi, in the north-west coast of Italy. The event takes place in an absolutely spectacular natural setting, offering swimmers the vision of one of the most extraordinary seabeds of the Mediterranean sea.